By the time the value of R was been judged to reach a level sufficiently safe for lockdown to be eased some became nostalgic for the novel experience through which they had been living and which was about to end for them:
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The timing of the ending of lockdown depended crucially on the value of ‘ R ‘ (the reproductive rate of the virus) remaining below unity. This arithmetical concept which purported to capture and encapsulate all the known mathematical facts of the virus into a single number had been propelled by the ‘the science’ to celebrity status. As such it appeared centre stage ad nauseum in every daily broadcast: As seen in The Spectator.
It should be remembered that back then the reason many people maintained social distancing was not just because the government told them to do so but because they were genuinely fearful and this was caused by the relentless nightly images broadcast by our emotionally headline hungry mainstream news channels from the worst affected of our hospitals. But although many remained insensitive to the fears of others some were more considerate.
The impact of social distancing was enormous with different sections of society behaving in different ways, varying from paranoia on the one hand through to a total insensitivity to others at the other. People were allowed out, apart from one essential shopping trip, for only one hour per day and even then they had to keep moving as this was permitted for exercise only. A walk in the spring sunshine would have been a pleasure had it not been punctuated periodically by the sound of pounding feet that would herald the arrival of a heavy breathing potentially Covid spraying runner or jogger who had no idea of social distancing. But to be fair the government obviously hadn’t appreciated that many people did not realise that 2 metres was approximately 6 feet. The signage for this was changed to the old Imperial measure so that runners would have no excuse.
